Edward Snowden Says He Would be More Than Happy if Brazil Offers Asylum

Whistleblower Edward Snowden, who is on exile in Russia, said Brazil is one of the choices he has after his temporary political asylum in Russia runs out in August.

"My asylum here runs out in August. If Brazil were to offer me asylum, I would be more than happy to accept," Snowden said during an interview with Fantastico, a weekly programme broadcast by Brazilian Globo News.

He maintained that he had filed an application for asylum in 2013, something the Brazilian government has denied.

"When I was in the [Moscow] airport, I sent applications to various countries. Brazil was one of them. It was an official application," he said.

Speaking about his life exile, Snowden said he is able to live a relatively normal life in Russia.

"It's hard to be separated from family, not able to go home, participate in government and society. But every night I sleep confident that I made ​​the right choices. So every morning, I wake up happy," he said.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. Russia is not a perfect country, and I strongly disagree on many things, especially as they monitor the internet and censor the press. But, day by day, you know, is better than prison."

"They recognise me when I go to computer stores. But buying food at the newsstand, nobody recognises me," he said.

Snowden received international attention after he leaked up to 1.7 million top secret documents about the US National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance programmes.

The Obama administration faced severe criticism across the globe after the documents revealed that the NSA tapped telephone conversations and spied on the internet activities of prominent people, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Snowden said Rousseff's speech in the UN, criticising the American espionage, was inspiring.

"It was amazing because she was the first president who took the leadership to say 'We have the right to speak, to communicate without being spied'. And these are not rights of a country. These are human rights..."

He also denied US Congress's claims that he offered to give stolen documents to Brazil in exchange for asylum.